By CAROLYN SZCZEPANSKI
David Quinly is used to getting trash tossed into his yard and taking unconventional steps to protect his home turf.
Before the U.S. invasion of Iraq, the Prairie Village resident started painting anti-war signs and posting them in his front yard on Roe Avenue. Over the past five years, his slogans have included cryptic messages (“Be thankful we’re killing more of their children than they are of ours”) and obvious outrage (“Dubya- Stop murdering the poor in Iraq and help the poor in New Orleans”) in opposing American military aggression in the Middle East.
In 2003, he spotted a jogger kicking down one of his placards and called the cops as he chased the Fairway resident down the street. After being charged with criminal damage of property, the offending runner paid Quinly $500 for his lawn-sign losses. In 2005, Quinly was on the other side of the law when he was cited by the city of Prairie Village for violating the municipal sign ordinance because his placards were too big. With the help of the American Civil Liberties Union, Quinly got the sign law struck down in district court.
But Quinly’s latest creation has nothing to do with the war. His target isn’t the president or Congress. On a placard erected this week, Quinly publicly anointed the assistant principal at Wyandotte High School a “chickenshit.”
It all started several months ago, when Quinly put up a new set of signs inspired by rising gas prices.
“I want to wake people up, make them think,” Quinly says.
Turns out, someone had a beef with Quinly’s outspoken politics. Since he erected those signs, he’s been under assault from a fast-food junkie. Every morning, the activist alleges, someone chucks the garbage from their McDonald's breakfast onto his front lawn.
At first, the longtime activist collected the debris each morning. Then, he let the trash pile up to show his disregard for the vandal. But that irked Quinly’s neighbor, so again he started collecting the Golden Arches garbage. Not to be defeated, he examined the bags for clues. The receipt showed the disgruntled commuter purchased his morning grub at the restaurant at 130th Street and State Line Road around 5:30 a.m. Then the McMuffin-muncher switched over to 119th Street and Roe.
One morning earlier this month, Quinly staked out his front drive and finally spotted the politically motivated litterbug. The man in question was driving a black GMC pickup truck. Fed up with the greasy onslaught, Quinly hopped in his car and followed his suspect until it pulled into the parking lot of Wyandotte High School. Armed with the man’s license plate number, Quinly attempted to track down the driver’s name; what he got: Robert Bayer, the school’s assistant principal.
Quinly wanted to spark some dialogue, so he decided to call Bayer out.
He says he chose the image because lobbing trash instead of engaging in debate is “a chickenshit thing to do.”
“I’m hoping he’ll see it and know he’s been made,” Quinly says. “And that he’ll stop.”
Last night, I called Bayer -- who lives south of 129th Street in a neighborhood close to the McDonald's locations listed on Quinly's recovered receipts -- to get his response to Quinly’s claims and the cartoon placard.
“I don’t even know the guy,” Bayer said, clearly surprised by the call.
You haven’t seen the sign?
“No,” he said slowly. “That’s weird. That’s, uh, bothersome.”
So, I know this is an odd question but have you been throwing McDonald's bags onto his driveway?
“Is this some kind of joke?” Bayer asked, anger starting to surface in his voice.
Before I could answer, the assistant principal hung up.
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I know Bob and I was surprised to hear he did this and that he supported Bushes Regime. He really is a great person who truly loves kids.
"The Trevor" needs to put irony tags around his stuff. The trouble with irony in print is that readers can't tell if the writer is being ironic or inarticulate. In this case maybe both. I'm taking it that "the Trevor" thinks Quinly is not thinking for himself, and that "the Trevor" does think for himself. Is that it? "The Trevor" really regards Quinly as a follow-the-crowd kind of guy?
Thanks to his new found notoriety, Bayer is now running for Vice President of the Fast Food Nation: "Bob the Bozo: 2012!"
The vice principal behaved disgracefully on so many levels....... this is a role model?
How in the world can anyone, and a presumably educated vice principal no less, still be supporting Bush & his boldfaced lies that have lead us to disaster???
What I want to know is, did the garbage stop showing up on David's lawn after the assistant principal was confronted?
Good for David Quinly! The pen is indeed mightier than the sword.
Robert Bayer has no business working with children. I am encouraging everyone as outraged by his behavior as I am to contact the KCK School District. Perhaps a refresher course in the first amendment is in order for Mr Bayer.
I am not a very good person. I just forwarded this story to the head principal at Wyandotte High School.
Love the story! I drive by the house on my way to work everyday. Always entertaining to see Mr. Quinly's signs. I've been wondering what the hell that sign meant.
I am not a very good person. I just forwarded this story to the head principal at Wyandotte High School.
Love the story! I drive by the house on my way to work everyday. Always entertaining to see Mr. Quinly's signs. I've been wondering what the hell that sign meant.
when i was in elementary school, our principal told us that we can always remember to spell "principal" the right way by remembering that the principal is our PAL.
Revision: now that your name is there, replace "nameless reporter", with "Carolyn Szczepanski".
David Quinly is a HERO! How much awesomeness does it take to not think for himself, color inside the lines, and be Kojak at the same time? Truly, this patriot�s word should be held in MUCH higher regard than an assistant principal�s. After all, David Quinly said it was so and Robert Bayer pretty much completely confessed by being surprised by such a call.
Also, nameless reporter, you are also awesome. You covered every side of the story and left no stone unturned in getting the truth. Your case is rock solid and a shining example of journalism at its finest.
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